Officials seek gas source

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL

River Parishes bureau

December 10, 2012


Dangerous hydrogen sulfide gas was detected Friday in fumes coming from crude oil drawn from an investigatory well tapped into a Texas Brine Co. LLC salt cavern in northern Assumption Parish, company and parish officials said.

The discovery of hydrogen sulfide Thursday from a methane stream flowing out of the well forced a shutdown and subsequent testing Friday of the well between the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou communities, officials said.

Officials were trying to determine the source of the hydrogen sulfide gas, also known as H2S. They want to continue using the well to remove oil and gas from the failed salt cavern and perform other testing.

The Louisiana Office of Conservation ordered Texas Brine to abate one of the suspected consequences of the failed underground cavern.

Company officials said Friday Texas Brine is looking at equipment to scrub the possibly sulfur-laden oil and put it in sealed transport containers to prevent any H2S releases.

“They are looking into ways to address the hydrogen sulfide issue and the sulfur in the oil,” said Sonny Cranch, spokesman for the Houston-based company.

He said the well would remain shut down until the equipment is installed.

That the oil has sulfur content is not unheard of, although Louisiana is more often known for its “sweet” crude, which has a low sulfur content. “Sour” crude has higher sulfur content.

Also, on Friday, Louisiana Office of Conservation Commissioner James Welsh ordered Texas Brine to drill two 6,000-foot-deep wells and take other steps on geotechnical work around the cavern and a related nearby sinkhole.

Welsh gave Texas Brine until Dec. 28 to submit plans and until Jan. 15 to have rigs ready to drill, threatening fines if the deadlines were not met, Conservation officials said.

“The deadlines set in these directives are aggressive, but absolutely necessary and achievable to get to the bottom of this situation,” Welsh said in a news release.

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